The present invention relates generally to gaming tables. More specifically, the present invention relates to a smart table employing radio frequency (RF) technology. The present invention further relates generally to card identification, and more specifically to card identification in the field of gambling.
The present invention relates to a radio frequency enabled blackjack table which can detect transponder imprinted playing cards as they are dealt to the players and dealer, and as they are placed face-up on the table in front of the player's betting area and face-up on the table in front of the dealer.
The system is able to register and record each card dealt and accurately display each player's hand and the dealer's hand on a monitor screen in real time during an ongoing card game. The system may also calculate the favorability of the remaining un-dealt cards at a specific Blackjack table, or any other betting calculation. The system may make a calculation as to the profitability of a hypothetical wager by a player, such as one dollar, as well as analyze a player's actions and gaming skills. The present invention allows card activity on every blackjack table in the casino to be monitored by security personnel. Card activity at a plurality of tables located within a specific area, or pit, can be monitored by the system and displayed at the pit boss's computer/monitor work station, or at any other game monitoring area.
The present invention uses wireless RF technology to identify each card in a deck of playing cards. RF transponders can be imprinted on at least one surface of a playing card, and an antenna mounted under or in the gaming table can be used to detect a card's rank and/or suit when the card is placed on the table over the antenna.
In the past, “RFID tags” have been applied to playing cards using a silicon microchip and antenna embedded within a paper sticker, or envelope. This technique was published in October of 2002, in a Swiss publication, the “Springer/ACM Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (PUC)”, Vol 6 No. 6, pp 371-378. It is entitled “Smart Playing Cards: A Ubiquitous Computing Game”, and its entire contents are incorporated by reference herein. The publication can also be found on the internet at: http://www.inf.ethz.ch/personal/roemer/publications.html. In order to monitor a card game (the game of “Whist”), RFID “stickers” were attached to playing cards and a single antenna was placed under a card table, which was connected to an RFID transceiver, computer, and monitor screen. As each card was placed on the gaming table and into the antenna detection area, that card's rank and suit would appear on the monitor screen at the appropriate indicated player position. These RFID stickers are not practical in an actual casino environment because the sticker would be detectable by the patrons and the microchip would create an obtrusive hump at that spot on the card. What is needed in the art is a technique of applying an RF transponder that is both unobtrusive and undetectable by the patron, and therefore less intimidating to the patron. Additionally, this sticker system would cost at least $1.00 per card, thus making the manufacturing cost for just one deck to be over $50.00.
While the present invention may be applied to practically any casino card game, it is especially helpful when applied to Blackjack. In the game of Blackjack, two cards are initially dealt to the players and to the dealer. In most Blackjack games, the players are allowed to initially pick up and hold their two originally dealt cards. It is the object of the game for each player, as well as the dealer, to try and achieve a total hand value as close to 21 as possible without exceeding a total value of 21. Initially, the players place a wager and each player plays his hand against the dealer's hand. The winner is the one with the hand adding up to the highest denominational value without exceeding a value of 21. When a player does exceed a hand value of 21 through the process of drawing cards from the dealer, the player automatically busts and loses. His cards and bet are then picked up by the dealer. When both the player and the dealer exceed a hand value of 21, the dealer wins the players bet since the player draws cards before the dealer draws cards, thereby resulting in the player's bet being picked up before the dealer has a chance to bust.
After the dealer plays his hand or busts in the process, the winning players' bets are paid, generally an amount equal to the amount wagered. Therefore, according to the rules of the game, the dealer receives a substantial built-in advantage. In order to offset this advantage, the players are allowed several options. When a player is satisfied with the value of his hand, he may stand by placing his original two cards face-down on the table next to his bet or with one corner of his cards tucked beneath his bet. A player may also hit or draw an additional card from the dealer and continue drawing cards until he busts, while the dealer typically must stop drawing cards when he achieves a hand value of 17 or more. A player also has the option to double-down by placing his two original cards face-up in front of his betting area and doubling his bet.
Another option available to the player is the option to split two cards of the same denomination into two or more hands. For example, a player who is dealt two original cards of the same denomination, such as two 8's, has the option to play the two cards as one hand, with a total value of 16, or divide the two cards into two hands, each with an initial value of 8. Each time a player splits, another bet must be placed within the betting area, matching the player's original bet. If after splitting two cards of the same denomination one or both of the two succeeding cards dealt to the player is also a card of the same denomination, such as an eight in this example, the player has the option of splitting one or both cards, forming the basis of a third or fourth hand. When a player splits his hand, his cards are separated and placed next to each other, side by side, in front of the player's betting area. Additional cards are placed on top of the split cards. On occasion, a player's hand might require as many as nine or ten cards to obtain a total hand value close to 21. Thus a row of cards may be manifested on top of each initially split card.
In the past, a single radio frequency antenna has been proposed to be placed at the area of the gaming table where the cards may land during the initial deal, or directly in front of the player. One problem that might arise using a single antenna placed directly in front of the player is that after a player picks up his cards, he may then set them back down for various reasons, only to pick them back up again. When the player decides he does not need to draw additional cards, he may again place the cards on the table within the antenna's detection zone. When the player doubles-down or splits, the antenna system will again read the player's same original two cards as they are placed on the gaming table over the player's antenna. Additionally, a player may place his two original cards on the table over the previously proposed single antenna area located directly in front of the player while asking the dealer for additional cards by the use of hand gestures. Again, a problem arises in that the previously proposed single RF antenna systems cannot determine the intended gaming purpose of the two cards detected within its detection zone. They cannot determine whether the two cards placed on the table are meant as a double-down, a split, or a signal that the player is standing. If a player is giving hand gestures while asking for additional cards, the two cards may be detected by the system.